Fish heads or certain parts thereof may be used for human consumption and/or for feeding animals. Before the tubular fish heads are preserved, for example by drying, salting, or freezing, they are normally split in two or cut up. This has hitherto been done manually by means of axes or knives. It may also be desired to separate the various parts of a fish head, such as the nape and skull portion, and the chin and cheek portion. These various parts may be used for several purposes. Thus, for example the chin and cheek portions may be used for the preparation of various dishes or minced fish meat. However, separation of the various parts of a fish head by manual cutting involves a high degree of labor, whereby utilization of fish heads for human consumption may be considered uneconomical.